Furlough
by Lisabeth C
Summary: On his way to Iowa for "furlough", Riley runs into the one person he didn't want to, Buffy. Warning: Spike death "Another one bites the dust"...
1. Foolish

He really had a feeling holding him back, making him not want to go to the place he'd left behind a year before. Another voice told him to go, kiss her, love her, and feel her. All he did know was that he had three- week furlough from the mission in Belize; Graham said Riley was too tense and needed to let off some steam. Riley had decided to go to Iowa for this time, but the only cheapest way there was through California, Sunnydale, California. He had thought of every excuse about not going through there. Every single one. But it wasn't evitable; he was broke, low pay, he had to take a trip through Sunnydale, risk the possibility of seeing her.  
  
He was driving down Main Street, going past The Sunnydale Sun Movie Theater. He went past The Espresso Pump, past The Bronze. The Bronze, where he had spent many a night, shaking, shimmying, dancing, and loving, with her....  
  
_No_, he shook his head, _don't think about it, just don't_. But, he couldn't stop the images, her, her tear-stained face, her hair, her petite body, her skin.... images of her couldn't escape him; they were just there, a mental picture. They were permanent. All of a sudden as he drove, he saw a small petite woman, blonde, short hair. She was walking to The Magic Box down the street. That could be none other than her, Buffy. She turned his way, noticing the humongous HumV, but not the driver, not him. Her face bore large worry lines. Her eyes told of her sorrow and pain. It was Buffy, he just needed to know why she was so, so sad. Screw the disappearing act, screw it. He still loved her. He rolled down one of the windows.  
  
"Little lady, what's wrong?" he asked, his voice choking.  
  
"Mister, if you're trying to pull something, just forget, 'kay? I'm not that kind of girl." She didn't know the voice; it came to her, when she saw his face. When she saw it her eyes brimmed back her tears.  
  
"Buffy...."  
  
"Why are you here, I thought, I thought you were in Belize, doing the military thing." The night came back to her, her running after the helicopter, yelling, rather screaming his name.  
  
"Furlough, on my way to Iowa."  
  
"Iowa, you'll be doing the farmy thing for how long?" She asked in a very normal tone.  
  
"Two weeks or so. I'm sorry, for just showing up like this."  
  
"No prob." She looked at his face, sincere and caring.  
  
"What's up with you, you wear worry lines that should belong to a woman ten years older than you, and you didn't have those a year ago."  
  
"Well, that was before my mother died and I had to fight a hell god. Plus, being in a coffin for four months doesn't help the skin." She cried, he opened the door for her. She got in and he gave her a large hug.  
  
"You died?"  
  
"Darn tootin'."  
  
"God."  
  
"Yea, leaping off a tower to stop Hell from reigning on Earth doesn't rate high in my book either."  
  
"How'd you come back?"  
  
"Call it my friends ripped me out of Heaven. I had to dig out of my grave. Very traumatic. "  
  
"I'll bet." He drove her to the store.  
  
"I love you." She mumbled under her breath very quietly. He heard.  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Oh nothing..." She shrugged it off.  
  
"Really, saying you love me is nothing? Because I thought it meant something. But if you don't...."  
  
"Riley, I do, and I have, loved you, missed you. By God I've missed you. I wish I had gotten there sooner, if only I had run a little faster..."  
  
"Faster? Running?"  
  
"Riley, I ran after your helicopter, I ran yelling your name, I was too late."  
  
"I didn't hear you, the chopper blades were too loud."  
  
"I should've thrown a pebble or something. Dammit! I'm such a fool." She put her face in her hands.  
  
"No." He said, "You're not." 


	2. Wanted

"Thank you." Riley said and dropped his purchase into the plastic bag. He walked out of the Sunnydale Pawn Shop and down to the Magic Box down the street. He had refused to go in with Buffy after he'd picked her up. She had gotten out, and he was thinking it'd be super romantic if he just came in like it was a normal day. Saying something dumb like "There's a new Bagel Mart around the corner." The shock, the surprise, it would be exhilarating. He was one for a big finish and a bigger opening.  
  
He was there; he took a gulp of air and went into the shop. The bell rung as usual, the store, the same as it was the year before. Nothing had changed except the stock. It was perfect. He walked around and Anya looked up from her work and froze, she didn't move, she was that shocked. She just uttered a small squeak.  
  
"Hi." He said simply. Willow must've heard it, because she came from behind an aisle of books, and saw him.  
  
"Uh...." She said. Remembering her shovel threat from before, she went to the alleyway behind the store.

_Meanwhile..._

__  
"So, I think you're doing great. I'm no Giles, but, I must say, this session was just superb, old gal." Xander said and Buffy laughed softly. They were just coming out of the training room; Xander was rubbing his arm gingerly. He was in good spirits, then, he saw who was there. His jaw clenched and he was silent.  
  
"Xander, what's wrong?" She looked at him. "Xander! What's wrong with you?" Xander pointed in front of him. Buffy looked and cracked a grin. "Why're you so shocked, it's just Riley." She said and went forward and hugged Riley.  
  
"RILEY! I'M COMING WITH A LARGE SHOVEL!" Willow yelled angrily, running in with said shovel, only to see Buffy hugging him. Willow halted too late and collided with a display of majick salt.  
  
"Hey! That glass cost lots and lots of money!" Anya said loudly.  
  
Willow mouthed 'Ow' and said, "I'll reimburse you."  
  
"That's Right!" Anya yelled, full of power.  
  
Everyone nodded and went to sit at the "study table" for time to just talk.  
  
"So, Heart breaker, Life taker. What're you doing in this here, Sunnydale?" Xander asked.  
  
"Actually, I was going up to Iowa for furlough, but I ran into Buffy." "Nice story. Why are you really here? Are you wired?" Xander asked.  
  
"No." He was getting annoyed.  
  
"Just checking, I mean, they could've brainwash-"  
  
"XANDER!" Buffy had had enough.  
  
"I was just-"  
  
"Enough! I will not have you harass Riley like this!"  
  
"Xander wasn't harassing Riley. It had nothing to do with an ass. No donkeys." Anya said.  
  
"Anya. Harassment has nothing to do with donkeys. Xander was pestering him. I kind of exaggerated." Buffy shrugged.  
  
"I don't mind." Riley said softly. Buffy stroked his arm.  
  
"So, any plans tonight?" Buffy whispered.  
  
"None. Why?" he replied.  
  
"I was thinking you'd come over and we could catch up."  
  
"That sounds nice."

* * *

"I have something for you." He said.  
  
"OOH, presents." Buffy squealed.  
  
"I thought your reaction would be that way." He grinned and gave her a small pink package.  
  
"Hmm..." She shook it.  
  
"Just open it, Buffy." He smiled. She ripped off the tape and the paper came off easily. It opened to a small pendant with two orange jewels on it and dangling on a silver chain. Buffy gazed at it in awe.  
  
"Riley, I can't accept this. It's too early...."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"Riley-"  
  
"Buffy, I'll only stay if I'm wanted. The question is, do you want me?" He asked and took her hands in his own.  
  
She thought it over for a moment and said softly "Yes." 


	3. Her Own Song

Buffy fastened the clasp of the necklace she'd received and smiled. The jewels, stones, whatever they were, glittered like magic, not witchcraft, not spells, but twinkled, sparkled like Tinkerbell and fire flies in the dark. She rubbed one of the stones, then in turn, the other one. She smiled. Where had she seen the necklace before, it wracked her mind. Maybe it was in the Macy's catalog she got once a month. A song came on the radio in the house and she began to sing along, but, instead she wanted to sing her own.  
  
"Lately" She sang and went down the stairs to the living room where Riley was waiting.  
  
"I've been thinking about us,

Together,

Again,

Is it luck,

Is it real,

Could I be dreaming?  
  
This seems to good to be true,

Since I mistreated you,

I've been in the dark so long,

Hiding from the things I feel,

Blinded by the love I'm full of,

Supposedly." She winked.

"Everybody says,

Gee, Buffy's such a puzzle,

And they've been working on it forever,

When are they going to find all the pieces?

Do I just wait here,

Wait to get puzzled out?  
  
My mystique,

Or whatever it is,

It sends some people,

Example: You,

To insanity,

Deep dark places in the alley,

Where cold chicks'll, Well,

Drain ya for a penny,

Or a dime,

Or a Quarter." Riley turned away in shame.

"Was it good?

Did it make you feel alive?

'Cause I wouldn't know,

The breath of death has been my friend,

Since I was 'Chosen'." She started to cry.  
  
"You'll never know,

What it's like,

To disguise yourself for the world outside,

To act like a normal person,

When you're not,

When your kindred spirit,

To some extent,

Is in prison,

Crawling from the dark place,

When there's no escape,

An endless climb,

Strength,

What can I say,

Much in the muscle department,

Not very much in here." She wept as she pointed to her heart.  
  
"Lately"  
  
"I've been thinking about us,

Together,

Again,

Is it luck,

Is it real,

Could I be dreaming?" She sang out the last verse and fainted.

* * *

"Buffy, are you awake?" Riley held the ice bag to her forehead.  
  
"Yes." She said softly.  
  
"You gave me a scare, there."  
  
"What happened?" She got up.  
  
"You sang a nice little song about my addiction, and yours to the darkness, and then you wept and fainted."  
  
"How nice?" She asked.  
  
"Not very." He said and turned away. KNOCK! KNOCK!  
  
Riley went to the door and opened it. A man-like creature with a wooden face said to him "My master demands the presense of the Slayer at the Bronze. Sweet the entertainer, would like to see she who summoned him."  
  
"Summoned? Queen of the Underworld?"  
  
"She is wearing the talisman." Sweet's minion pointed to Buffy's necklace. Then it clicked, she had seen this necklace when they all broke out into song, she had gone with Dawn to the pawnshop, to get some money to reimburse Anya.  
  
"Not Again!" Buffy exclaimed. 


	4. Sweet

"So Sweet, you wanted to see me?" Buffy asked with a playful attitude.  
  
"Quite desperate to go and be my queen, aren't we?"  
  
"Not _really_." She admitted with Riley behind her.  
  
"Then why did you summon me, my pet?"  
  
"How many times do we Summers women have to say that we _did not_ summon you ?!?"  
  
"But, you did. You are wearing my talisman, you rubbed each of the jewels adorning it."  
  
"Note to self: Never wear this necklace again." Buffy did a swift kick and made Sweet's neck snap back, but remarkably it did not break. Sweet's head came back into shape and he sighed. Riley was battering Sweet's henchmen nearby.  
  
"Ah, Slayer, I just noticed the hair. Nice judgment." Sweet said and signaled for his boys to corner her.  
  
Buffy squeaked.

* * *

As they began to move in on her, Riley came in to save the day, or in this case, night. He quickly cut off the henchmen's heads with one slice of the axe.  
  
"Oh Damn! Now I have to get new minions." Sweet said amused. Buffy grabbed for the axe.  
  
"Sorry, I don't think you'll have time." She grinned and swung the axe so it cut his body in half horizontally. He blinked, fell to the floor, his eyes glazed over swiftly, and all that was left was a trash heap that Buffy would have to take to the Magic Box dumpster.  
  
"Ah, another day, another foe." She said quietly.  
  
"Geez, any days off?" Riley asked wiping off his jacket.  
  
"A few." She smiled "I'm feeling..."  
  
"I know, me too, wired, ready to inhale dust. Mini Patrol?"  
  
"Definite." She smiled.  
  
"Faithful cemetery." She smiled at the area littered with headstones of various sizes.  
  
"Always there with newbies just itching with blood lust."  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"I see some stirring. Hand popping out of the ground. Be back after this one's dust." She said and ran to the spot.  
  
"Hello, can you help me?" The new vampire asked as he struggled to get out of his grave.  
  
"What do you mean?" Buffy asked, lowering her stake.  
  
"I think my foot's caught on a root or something." He explained.  
  
"Why should I, the _Slayer_, help you?"  
  
"Because it really hurts."  
  
"Oh, Okay." She sighed and helped pull him out.  
  
"Thanks." The guy said and stuck out his hand, she shook it in disgust, and he vamped out. "Sadly, I'll have to eat you now."  
  
"C'mon. Does the word _Slayer_ mean anything to you?"  
  
"Uh. Not really."  
  
"Guess they don't make 'em the way they used to." She said and quickly dusted him.  
  
She wiped the dusty residue off her white sweater and started walking when a voice said "Guess not." Buffy stopped and looked at Spike coming out of the shadows.  
  
"Spike." She said coolly.  
  
"Yea. Why haven't you come by the crypt lately for some-"  
  
"Stop where you are. Spike, I have someone real and well, _living_, in my life again."  
  
"Hmm, one of your old mates at DoubleHell Palace? A guy you met clubbing? Or did Peaches get that Shanshu?"  
  
"Neither-"She started to say when Riley came running.  
  
"And so he appears." Spike sighed. "Now, I'm starting to see the truth in whatever we had-"  
  
"We had _nothing_." She replied harshly.  
  
"I see, I was just the rebound guy. Someone to be with, till your love comes a running."  
  
"Guess so." She replied emotionless.  
  
"Buffy, hey, you get the bad guy?" Riley asked.  
  
"You know it." She gave him a peck on the cheek. She could feel Spike's eyes burning a hole in her sweater.  
  
"Oh... Spike." Riley glared at Spike who was nearby.  
  
"Yea, Spike." Buffy pretended to hate him. She didn't hate him, she just disliked him very very much.  
  
"Face it, Spike." Riley's lip curled "You'll _never_ have a chance." Riley said cruelly. Spike got an amused glint in his eye.  
  
"Really? Oh, my poor heart is breaking into small pieces. Ah, Buffy, how can I prove my undying love? My dear." Spike said in a drama.  
  
Buffy rolled her eyes. "You have a heart? It isn't even beating! Undying?" She spat "You've been dead for a century."  
  
"Fine. Be that way. Just remember, you're not human, not _exactly_, and I can kill you where you stand." Spike added and went into his crypt.  
  
"What does he mean by that?" Riley looked at her.

* * *

"You know how I died?"  
  
"Yea."  
  
"When I was brought back, there were some major forces used in bringing me back, _world-ending forces_. Mystical forces, beyond comprehension. In bringing me back, there was a mishap, it was interrupted, the urn of Osiris was broken. I came back, well, not exactly human. I'm not human enough for his chip to stop him from biting me or _worse_." She stressed worse and a pain crunched at her gut.  
  
"Great, there are things wrong with it. Damn. What did we do wrong? I have to hold myself and the Initiative responsible."  
  
"Don't blame yourself. Things happen, things you can't help. Mistakes happen. In judgment," She knew that one "_and_ in everything else."  
  
"Things just happen?" He asked.  
  
"Yea."  
  
"I feel a little better."  
  
"Good." She winked and he started to carry her upstairs to her bedroom. 


	5. Confetti

"Buffy? Where are you going?" Dawn saw her sister leave and asked. _She can't know now_.  
As soon as Buffy was outside she pulled out her cell phone and called Riley's new one. **RING RING**!  
  
"Hello?" He asked.  
  
"Riley, can you meet me at the cemetery? I'm going to take care of something and I may need some backup."  
  
"Sure. Ten minutes?"  
  
"Exact."  
  
"Love you."  
  
"Love you too." Buffy said and pressed "end".

* * *

"Riley." Buffy whispered.  
  
"Hey. So what's the big deal?"  
  
"Guess." Buffy went to the crypt door alone. "If you hear screams, mine, come in and help."  
  
"Check." Riley said and Buffy opened the door and walked in.  
  
"In other places a _normal_ person would consider that trespassing." Spike said.  
  
"Good thing you're not _normal_."  
  
"Good thing. You here for-"Spike started to ask.  
  
"Yes, I'm here for this." She pulled out her stake.  
  
"Kinky." Spike said with an arched eyebrow.  
  
"Are you _blind_? This is a stake. Something that you should be all hissy about."  
  
"You couldn't—You wouldn't. You _can't_ stake me."  
  
"Wanna bet?" Buffy said and lunged toward him and began to corner him. Spike gripped her in a kiss. She got out of it and screamed. Riley came in quickly.  
  
"Buffy, what happened?"  
  
"Spike kissed me." She said wiping her mouth off in disgust.  
  
"Like you didn't like it, love." Spike said nastily.  
  
"I'll take a long shot, she didn't." Riley's lip curled. He lunged forward and spat on Spike, right on the cheek. Spike struggled to get it off.

In this struggle, Riley took the stake and jabbed it straight into Spike's non- beating heart. Spike looked down and saw the stake, looked meaningfully into Buffy's eyes and fell to her feet as a pile of dust, in a funny way, it looked like confetti, like from a birthday party._ Oh duh_, Buffy slapped her forehead. _It is my birthday_.


End file.
